vv\  e 'T, 


) 


^THe^*American  Church  Missionary  Society^N^ 


LATIN- 

AMERICAN 

MISSIONS. 


CHURCH  MISSIONS  HOUSE, 

281  FOURTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK  CITY. 


Latin-American  Missions, 


A few  years  ago  when  this  Church  began  its  Latin-American  Missionary 
work  there  was  developed  a decided  objection  to  the  inauguration  of  any 
such  enterprise,  and  from  time  to  time  nowadays  there  is  heard  a similar 
remonstrance.  Then,  as  now,  this  antagonism  was  developed  from  a 
hypothetical  basis.  The  motive  which  induced  the  expression  was  unques- 
tionably a fair  one  and,  if  the  truth  of  its  foundation  had  been  established, 
it  should  have  had  success.  It  was  declared  that,  however  widely  we  might 
differ  from  the  Church  of  Rome,  both  in  theology  and  practice,  yet  the 
Church  of  Rome  was  presenting  to  the  people  of  these  countries  the  religion 
and  truth  of  Christ,  and  offering  them  opportunity  for  righteous  life,  and, 
therefore,  our  energies  should  be  directed  in  other  lands  and  localities 
where  this  truth  and  opportunity  had  in  no  sense  been  offered. 

But  the  foundation  of  the  objection  was  not  true.  The  Church  of 
Rome  was  not  presenting  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  to  these  people,  nor  giv- 
ing them  wholesome  example,  nor  affording  them  opportunity  through  her 
teaching,  or  in  any  way,  for  moral  improvement  in  life.  The  priests  them- 
selves were  depraved,  and  in  large  numbers  ; the  Bible  was  rarely  in  their 
hands,  nor  accessible  to  the  people.  The  balancing  of  its  accounts  after 
four  centuries  of  domination  found  nothing  to  its  credit.  A fearful  reaction 
had  come.  The  cultured  had  for  the  most  part  drawn  away  from  the 
Church,  and  sought  some  satisfaction  in  infidelity,  skepticism  and  agnosti- 
cism, and  the  lower  classes  in  the  same  revolution  had  been  flung  into  a 
state  of  entire  moral  wreck.  The  influence  of  the  Church  was  gone,  the 
Parish  Church  deserted  in  many  instances,  the  Mass  neglected,  the  clergy 
despised,  the  truth  unknown,  forgotten,  and  if  mentioned,  questioned.  The 
Church  in  these  countries  had  become  bad,  the  people  worse.  If  a reforma- 
tion had  been  necessary  in  England  and  Europe  in  the  i6th  century,  it  was 
a hundred-fold  more  necessary  in  these  countries  then  and  now.  The  same 
violated  law  and  the  same  abused  truth  which  called  for  it  then  called  for  it 
in  these  later  years. 

Really  the  mOrai  condition  of  the  general  population  was  little,  if  any, 


3 


perhaps  it  was  worse,  than  that  of  people  who  have  never  had  the  Gospel 
preached  to  them.  The  continued  fall  from  a high  estate  touches  a lower 
depth  than  that  from  which  the  individual  was  raised.  In  their  civilization 
there  were  no  ideals,  no  inspiration,  no  hope.  To  leave  them  longer  was 
neglect,  was  sin.  Imperative  duty,  that  to  one’s  neighbor,  demanded  that 
some  one,  and  that  some  one  could  be  no  other  than  this  Church,  should 
help  them  along  the  God-intended  way,  and  point  them  to  His  appointed 
destiny.  Therefore,  there  were  those  who  believed  themselves  called  to 
minister  to  the  destitute  in  Latin-American  countries,  and  those  who  felt  it 
their  duty  to  send  them  there.  They  went,  and  in  another  pamphlet  some 
bit  of  record  of  their  accomplishments  is  made. 

In  this  brief  notice  of  this  very  large  subject  no  details  of  testimony 
have  been  adduced  to  establish  the  declarations,  but  it  is  worthy  of  note,  if 
one  would  gather  some  tangible  idea  of  the  moral  condition  of  the  Church, 
which  was  responsible  for  the  loss  of  morals  and  ideals  in  this  otherwise 
attractive  and  picturesque  civilization,  that  in  their  report  to  the  Council 
held  in  Rome  last  year,  enough  was  said  by  the  South  American  Bishops  to 
justify  all  that  appears  in  this  article. 

We  quote  in  a free  translation  from  the  January,  1900,  number  of  La 
Luz,  Madrid,  which  is  discussing  editorially  this  Council,  convened  with 
a special  view  to  the  correction  of  the  consequences  of  the  spread  of  the 
apocryphal  encyclical  authorizing  the  marriage  of  the  South  American 
clergy. 

La  Luz  says  the  South  American  Bishops  did  not  hesitate  to  present  to 
the  Pope  the  demoralization  of  their  inferior  clergy.  Without  equivoca- 
tion they  declared  that  of  the  i8,ooo  clergy  in  South  America,  3,000  lived  in 
open,  public  concubinage,  with  acknowledged  mistresses  and  children  ; 
4,000  lived  in  secret  concubinage,  and  1,500  sustained  illicit  relations  in 
secret.  But,  it  adds,  of  these  last  it  would  be  difficult  to  estimate  the  correct 
number.  This  it  will  be  borne  in  mind  is  the  confessed  condition  of  the 
religious  teachers  of  the  Church  of  Rome  in  South  America.  How  much 
worse  it  probably  is  may  not  even  be  guessed  at.  It  is  worse  than  this,  if 
that  be  possible,  in  Cuba, 

We  need  not  know  more.  If  such  are  the  priests,  the  teachers,  the 
taught  must  be  in  wretched  case  indeed.  But  those  who  will  take  the 
trouble  to  investigate,  as  other  details  and  testimony,  easily  had,  expose  the 
sad  plight,  they  will  find  themselves  unhappily  abundantly  shown  the 


4 


terrible  need  of  these  people  for  God’s  truth  and  Christian  inspiration. 

In  spite  of  this  sad  fact  there  is  a rich  opportunity  for  rapid  Christian 
work.  American  tropical  and  sub-tropical  civilizations  are  fascinating  in 
their  one  long  doled  far  niente,  and  romantic,  natural  refinement,  which, 
though  without  ideals  and  inspiration,  is  ready  for  both.  These  things  are 
all  they  lack.  The  body  is  there,  a fair  body,  the  soul  is  in  it,  uninstructed. 
It  has  been  simply  waiting,  and  when  God’s  truth  is  received,  it  produces 
result.  With  this  introduction,  in  a fashion  of,  perhaps,  unnecessary  apolo 
getics,  the  reader  of  this  leaflet  is  asked  to  study  the  story  of  Brazil  and 
Cuba,  as  it  is  told  in  the  results  of  this  Church’s  Missionary  enterprise. 


